Hot on the heels of her massive Speak Now debut, [artist id="2389485"]Taylor Swift[/artist] turned in a mellow performance of the album's single "Back to December" at the 44th annual CMA Awards on Wednesday night (November 10).

Following an intro from "Country Strong" actress Leighton Meester, Swift appeared onstage behind a large, sleek grand piano on an elevated platform. With an iron gate and dimly lit street lamps flanking a string section, the set had a turn-of-the-century vibe. Donning a long, white, empire-waist gown, red lipstick and her blond curls swept into an updo, Swift gave a measured performance of the ballad. Snowflakes fell from the ceiling as the singer closed the ethereal performance.

"So this is me swallowing my pride/ Standing in front of you saying 'I'm sorry' for that night/ And I go back to December all the time/ It turns out freedom ain't nothing/ Missing you, wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine/ I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right/ I go back to December all the time," Swift sang in the chorus.

"Well, I've always sort of written songs about situations in life, things that needed to be said," she said. "I write songs about people who deserve to have songs written about them, and whatever they need to hear, whatever is the right thing to say to that person, ends up being said.

"I've never felt the need to apologize in a song before. But in the last two years I've experienced a lot, [including] a lot of different kinds of learning lessons," she said. "And sometimes you learn a lesson too late and at that point you need to apologize because you were careless."

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